Illinois Eyes Efficiency Gains Through Building Code

Illinois is on track to become the first state in the Midwest to require new homes pass a blower door test and meet rigorous new standards for air tightness and insulation.

The requirements are among the expected changes to the state’s building code that are due to be finalized this summer and implemented early next year.

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The dry and technical subject of building codes has become a cornerstone issue for some energy efficiency advocates in recent years. The Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA), for example, made building codes a priority in 2008 and played a central role in upgrading Illinois’ rules (MEEA is a member of RE-AMP, which also funds Midwest Energy News).

Building codes are the sets of state or local rules that spell out the technical requirements for building design and construction. While they lack the flash of solar panels or electric vehicles, building codes can significantly reduce energy consumption by mandating subtle, often invisible improvements to buildings using commonly available tools and techniques.

Under the rules being implemented in Illinois, homes will be 15 percent more energy efficientthan those built under the 2009 version of the same code, which were 15 percent more efficient than those built under the 2006 version.

The Home Builders Association of Illinois, however, objects to the code changes, saying they add to the cost of construction and are updating faster than developers and code officials can keep up.

Following international standards

The codes come from an organization called the International Code Council, which publishes an updated version of its International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) every three years. A parallel energy conservation code for commercial buildings is issued every three years by an organization called ASHRAE. With each update, the rules require more energy conservation.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 requires states to review and consider adopting the most current IECC and ASHRAE codes, but they aren’t required to use them. The Midwest lags the coasts in adoption. Some states have no energy codes and leave it up to local governments to decide. Others have codes that haven’t been updated since 2006 or earlier.

When MEEA started working on energy codes in 2008, four states in its territory had pre-1999 codes in place, and Illinois had no residential code at all.

“This has become a huge priority issue for the Midwest, and I would say with the adoptions we’ve done we’re really leading the nation,” said Stacey Paradis, MEEA’s deputy director.

Its biggest success story, and the focus of its current work, is Illinois. With support from Environment Illinois, the Environmental Law and Policy Center and the American Institute of Architects, it helped pass the Illinois Energy Efficient Building Act in August 2009. The law, which took effect last year, requires state administrators to adopt the latest version of the IECC code — subject to review and comment — within a year of its publication.

The process of implementing the 2012 IECC rules is in the later administrative stages, said Isaac Elnecave, MEEA’s senior policy manager for building codes. The state is in line to become the second or third state to adopt the rules after Maryland and possibly Massachusetts.

The state’s legislation will keep it perpeptually updating its energy code to the latest standards. In most Midwest states, legislation authorizes administrators to adopt an energy code but doesn’t specify how often it must be reviewed or updated. Nebraska requires legislative approval before newer energy codes can be adopted.

Midwest Energy News, launched in 2010, is a nonprofit news site dedicated to keeping stakeholders, policymakers, and citizens informed of the important changes taking place as the Midwest shifts from fossil fuels to a clean energy system.